live_tv
Livestream Starting Soon
00
Hours
:
00
Minutes
:
00
Seconds
Up next in 10
Has Princess Cruises lost its way? Or is it just a temporary blip as it gets back to speed? I've been asked this increasingly by cruisers coming off recent Princess cruises. Based on my 3 recent trips here’s 4 things they’re getting very wrong 4 things they’re getting very right.
ABOUT TIPS FOR TRAVELLERS: If you want to get cruising right, Tips For Travellers makes it easy to plan and have the incredible cruise experiences you dream of every time. All my Tips For Travellers advice, tips and tricks tips draw on everything that I have learnt on the 95 cruises I have done to date.
BUY MY CRUISE-THEMED T-SHIRTs
————————————————-
* Check out my T-Shirt range: http://bit.ly/TFTStore
SUPPORT TIPS FOR TRAVELLERS
—————————————————————
* Become a Channel Member and get perks: https://www.tipsfortravellers.com/Join
* Become a Patron on Patreon and get perks: https://www.patreon.com/tipsfortravellers
* Make a donation: https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=V9STJGYSEMGLJ
* Buy my book “Cruise Traveler’s Handbook: USA Amazon https://amzn.to/2YVFmG4 and https://amzn.to/3tzIxBn
UK Amazon https://amzn.to/3oXbzYc and https://amzn.to/3qawqIQ
FOLLOW ME ON SOCIAL MEDIA
———————————————
* Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/garybembridge
Show More Show Less View Video Transcript
0:00
has princess cruises lost its way or is
0:02
it just a temporary blip as it gets back
0:05
to speed i've been asked this
0:07
increasingly by cruisers coming off
0:09
recent princess cruises they're worried
0:11
about the service the men use the food
0:14
and the much hyped medallion i'm gary
0:16
bembridge welcome aboard i've been on
0:19
three princess trips in the last 12
0:21
months on regal princess sky princess
0:24
and majestic princess and here's what i
0:26
think are the things they're getting
0:28
very wrong and the things are getting
0:30
very right
0:31
right now while some of the issues that
0:34
people are raising like erratic service
0:36
should be temporary and can i think be
0:39
put down to post shutdown challenges
0:40
that all lines are suffering in
0:42
recruiting experienced staff i'm
0:44
convinced some of the changes some of
0:46
the issues are much more permanent
0:48
because i see evidence that princess
0:50
cruises is in transition and they are
0:52
aiming to appeal to a different user
0:55
the enforced cruise down i think has
0:57
accelerated and made this change much
1:00
more obvious while waiting to board a
1:02
competitive line recently i was chatting
1:04
to some followers of the channel also
1:06
recently of princess like i was and they
1:08
said they were confused about what
1:10
princess now stood for as a recent trip
1:13
had just felt off i said to them that
1:16
during the cruise shutdown they need to
1:18
remember that princess made some big
1:20
changes first of all they are now a
1:22
mostly big ship fleet during the
1:24
shutdown they sold many of their smaller
1:26
ships leaving them a mostly mega and
1:29
large ship cruise line mega ships by the
1:32
way are those carrying
1:33
3500 passengers or more so all their six
1:37
newer ships sky princess regal princess
1:39
discovery princess enchanter princess
1:41
majestic princess and royal princess are
1:44
all mega ships they then have four large
1:48
ships carrying over 3 000 passengers and
1:50
only five mid-sized ships
1:52
left in their fleets under that size
1:54
this means that they need to fill these
1:57
big ships with more people per sailing
2:00
than ever before and i think we've seen
2:03
some changes in focus and priorities to
2:06
do just that leading us certainly as
2:09
regular travellers increasing the
2:11
experience of princess that we're much
2:14
less familiar with and used to i'm
2:16
seeing for example they're becoming much
2:18
more family and much much more
2:21
multi-generational family friendly i've
2:24
seen many more kids on princess than i
2:26
had ever seen before for example when i
2:29
was on majestic princess in alaska it
2:31
was packed with families with kids they
2:35
overtook the swimming pools they were
2:36
really busy kids clubs there was lots of
2:39
multiple occupancy of cabins and fully
2:42
booked family cabins for example both
2:44
cabins on either side of me had four
2:46
people staying in them with parents and
2:48
of course the kids
2:51
even on excursions princess have now got
2:54
partnerships with discovery and animal
2:57
planet to have much more family friendly
3:00
offers and excursions and they really
3:02
have elevated and expanded the kids club
3:06
in size in facilities and in program
3:10
it's really really changed significantly
3:11
friends of mine have started choosing
3:13
princess for the great kids clubs option
3:16
that's something pretty new and i've
3:18
been following their sailings this
3:19
summer out of the uk on ships like sky
3:22
princess based out of southampton and
3:24
i've seen so many more families on those
3:27
ships
3:28
princess seems to be shifting away from
3:31
what it's traditionally has been a much
3:34
more adult and couples experience
3:38
they're now appealing to a wider
3:39
audience including giving families and
3:42
younger groups of friends i think as
3:44
well a traditional more sedate classic
3:47
cruising experience alternative to those
3:49
hectic resort style mass lines like
3:52
norwegian royal caribbean msc and
3:54
carnival
3:55
which all have those big bells and
3:57
whistles and water parks and rock
3:59
climbing walls they're offering an
4:01
alternative to that
4:02
further evidence of this focus is they
4:05
have no solar cabins even on their newer
4:08
ships unlike other similar competing
4:10
lines like holland america cunard and
4:12
even new entrant virgin has solar cabins
4:15
but the princess ships do have an
4:17
increasing number of cabins that can
4:19
take a third and a fourth guest on the
4:21
sofa or pull up beds and those family
4:24
cabins i was talking about earlier so i
4:26
think it's going through a shift and
4:28
that could be throwing regular and
4:30
historic princess travelers like me
4:32
certainly of and why i think more and
4:34
more people are feeling it's a different
4:36
experience like me to be honest now
4:38
while i could argue the princess are
4:40
trying to offer choice and help people
4:42
on various budgets as part of this whole
4:45
evolution they're going through i think
4:47
they are in danger of confusing all of
4:49
us as they keep changing and keep making
4:53
their fairs more and more complicated at
4:56
the time of recording they've recently
4:58
changed now to three fares
5:01
they have princess standard which is a
5:03
basic standard cruise fare with all of
5:06
the extras charged individually once
5:08
you're on board or you can actually
5:09
pre-book some of them then they have
5:12
princess plus which has a beverage
5:14
package wi-fi and what they call crew
5:17
appreciation or as we call them
5:19
gratuities then there's princess
5:22
premiere now this includes all of the
5:24
plus package and then adds some
5:27
specialty dining a photo package and the
5:30
chance to win various princess prizes so
5:33
each day on your stateroom door on the
5:36
screen you look to see if you want a
5:37
prize and you could have won onboard
5:39
credit
5:40
spending
5:41
[Music]
5:42
vouchers wine tasting chef's table and
5:44
even free cruises and once a year they
5:46
give away 100 000
5:48
in cash
5:50
fares are definitely not as
5:52
straightforward as they used to be and
5:53
trying to work out if the levels are
5:56
good value for you i find pretty much
5:59
challenging now especially if say like
6:00
me you don't want or need all of the
6:03
perks and add on say like a drinks
6:05
package based on those three cruises on
6:08
three different ships in the last year i
6:10
did not find food as good as their
6:12
closest competitors
6:13
in the included dining venues although
6:15
it was pretty good and matched in the
6:17
specialty added charge crown grill and
6:19
sabatini's having also been on all those
6:22
similar lines in the last year too
6:24
princess felt to me to have a smaller
6:26
menu choice and not as good food
6:28
compared to cunard holland america
6:30
celebrity or even the new entrant virgin
6:33
voyages and it probably was about parity
6:35
with piano cruises in the uk which is
6:37
very close to them as a line as well the
6:39
other lions have really upped it with
6:41
culinary councils and celebrity chef
6:44
partnerships and i suspect the princess
6:46
knows this is a weakness because they've
6:48
recently announced the appointment of
6:50
the u.s chef rudy soderman as head of
6:54
princess culinary arts he leads their
6:56
sister carnival owned holland america
6:58
culinary council which has done an
7:00
amazing job upping the food on that line
7:02
so hopefully this will change from a
7:04
weakness quite soon
7:07
the fourth thing the princess is not
7:09
quite getting right
7:10
at present is delivering on what they
7:13
have chosen as their big point of
7:15
difference to other cruise lines so
7:17
while other competitive lines have
7:19
chosen physical features as their
7:21
standout point of difference princess
7:24
have not gone down that route honda
7:26
america's unique feature for example is
7:28
a series of themed music venues called
7:31
the music walk celebrity now has their
7:33
distinctive new ships with infinity
7:35
balconies and the retreat suites with
7:37
lounge and deck virgin voyages has no
7:39
main dining room and multi all included
7:42
special edited restaurants and really
7:44
quirky entertainment and of course
7:46
cunard has the only ocean liner at sea
7:48
transatlantics the grills inside program
7:51
and white club afternoon tea the thing
7:53
princess have chosen to be the thing to
7:55
set them apart from others it's making
7:57
all their ships what they call medallion
8:00
class this uses the technology entwined
8:03
with the cruising experience with a
8:05
wearable medallion an apt linked to the
8:07
medallion and supposedly better wi-fi
8:10
it's supposed to make the cruising
8:12
experience faster easier and more
8:15
personalized especially with their ships
8:17
getting bigger and having to handle more
8:19
passengers this becomes important with
8:21
bigger ships for example crew will
8:23
struggle to remember our names and the
8:25
medallion brings up our picture and our
8:27
name to assist them the medallion
8:29
unlocks
8:30
my cabin i can order food and drinks to
8:32
wherever i am i can charge items on
8:34
board and even now when i'm out in some
8:37
ports like in alaska i could use the
8:38
medallion to charge stuff directly to
8:40
the ship now other than the medallion
8:42
itself which is great for simplifying
8:45
things like opening your door and the
8:47
purchasing the app itself on all my
8:49
trips was very glitchy and social media
8:52
and cruise review sites are full of the
8:55
same experience
8:57
the apps on less technology leading
9:00
lines even like holland america and
9:02
celebrity on those trips that i did
9:04
between these various princess trips all
9:06
their apps worked better although
9:08
admittedly they do have less features in
9:11
but they definitely were better and less
9:13
glitchy now like most i was expecting
9:15
amazing wi-fi from all the princess hype
9:18
and again on my three trips medallion
9:20
net was not as good as on the other
9:22
cruise lines that i've mentioned and
9:24
i've seen many people posting about
9:26
their frustrations around the whole wifi
9:29
area princess is making a big play with
9:32
medallion class ships but it's still
9:34
glitchy and it's not quite running
9:36
brilliantly so now until it's up and
9:39
running it's not really for me a key
9:41
strength or an advantage yet it's a
9:43
little bit of a weakness
9:45
so those are the four things they're not
9:47
quite getting right these days but let's
9:50
get much more upbeat and look at what
9:52
princess in my view is getting right
9:55
these days first of all princess wise
9:57
and remains incredibly popular it's the
10:00
largest in the premium line category is
10:03
bigger than hull america
10:04
celebrity virgin and cunard based on the
10:07
number of passengers that go on princess
10:09
cruises
10:10
it is the biggest cruise line after the
10:13
big four resort mass lines after
10:15
carnival royal caribbean msc and
10:18
norwegian so this is a big line
10:21
so clearly appealing to an ever wider
10:23
audience seeking a premium classic
10:25
experience is working and i think the
10:28
reason for that is it's driven by their
10:30
consistency even though i'm less of a
10:32
fan of it but many clearly see it as a
10:34
big plus is that all their ships layout
10:38
venues and decor are basically carbon
10:40
copies the ships are all very samey
10:44
inside this means incredibly predictable
10:47
and very consistent experience right
10:49
across every ship in the fleet so no
10:52
matter which ship you step on it is the
10:54
same this definitely appeals to many
10:57
many people another reason for their
10:59
popularity and for me the thing that
11:00
they do best better than their direct
11:03
competitors and certainly for me the
11:05
main reason i would choose princess
11:08
is around destinations
11:11
they claim to call on over 300 ports but
11:14
key is not only do they have this
11:16
massive range of destinations that in
11:18
fact most of the others also claim but
11:20
because they have a bigger fleet 15
11:23
ships than the others they call on those
11:26
places more frequently and the regions
11:28
they're in with much more depth so for
11:31
example in alaska
11:33
while they're second only taught in
11:35
america in terms of time sailing there
11:38
they have multiple ships based there in
11:40
the season you can sell out of seattle
11:42
vancouver and whittier they own and
11:45
operate scenic trains in alaska buses
11:48
and lodges too
11:50
they also home-based ships at various
11:52
times of the year around the world
11:55
offering intensive trips so for example
11:57
they base ships in japan and they do
11:59
incredibly intensive japan itineraries
12:02
really fascinating attendees over and
12:04
over again they base multiple ships
12:07
every year in the uk and they do
12:08
incredible round uk
12:11
norwegian fjords and northern european
12:13
sailings from there they even base ships
12:15
in australia and do phenomenal around
12:17
australia and new zealand itineraries
12:20
they even base ships on the u.s west
12:22
coast and do hawaii and west coast deep
12:25
dives
12:26
the other close competitors
12:28
visit many of these places but with
12:30
limited sailings
12:32
by a long way by comparison with
12:34
princess the next thing that i think
12:36
princess are doing really well is
12:39
although i have touched on it so far is
12:41
offering a viable classic cruising
12:44
option for multi-generational travelers
12:47
many many traditional cruisers are less
12:49
keen to go on those big mass resort
12:52
lines like royal caribbean but this was
12:55
really their only option if they wanted
12:56
to include and satisfy all of the ages
13:00
of the family when they were traveling
13:01
with family and grandkids for example
13:03
but now with the changes princess is
13:05
offering a real alternative with a range
13:07
of cabins excursions kids clubs
13:10
activities so multi-generational
13:12
travelers know they can go on princess
13:15
and even their younger family members
13:17
will no longer feel out of place on a
13:19
classic cruising experience another
13:21
thing that i think they're doing well
13:23
is making it more affordable as they're
13:26
moving into bigger and bigger ships i
13:28
guess that they're obviously able to
13:30
leverage costs much more than on smaller
13:32
ships but when i look at what princess
13:34
is doing they're constantly offering
13:37
deals attractive pricing even in the
13:40
premium category
13:42
you know they're offering great deals
13:43
for third and fourth guests in to stay
13:45
in a cabin and they offer very low
13:48
deposits sometimes as low as 50 us
13:51
dollars or 50 pounds to book a cruise so
13:54
catering for a much more
13:55
budget-conscious traveler they have a
13:57
wide range of cabins and choices from
13:59
inside cabins right through to suites
14:01
but even the suites tend to be less
14:03
costly than their direct competition and
14:05
it's partly because they don't have as
14:06
many added suite features then they just
14:08
have a small lounge they have an area
14:10
within the main dining room unlike other
14:12
lines like say celebrity which has a
14:15
dedicated separate restaurant a big
14:17
lounge and a massive big deck for sweet
14:19
guests
14:20
if all of this though makes you think
14:22
the princess isn't the right cruise line
14:24
for you and you still want a premium
14:26
experience that's a little bit more
14:27
adult watch this video about holland
14:30
america starting with the one thing that
14:33
i think people get wrong about holland
14:35
america they misunderstand about the
14:37
line see you over there
#Cruises & Charters
#Specialty Travel
#Honeymoons & Romantic Getaways
#Luxury Travel
#Transportation